Catalyst's longitudinal project, The Promise of Future
Leadership: A Research Program on Highly Talented Employees in the
Pipeline, develops timely reports on the retention and advancement
of high potential women and men. The project surveys graduates of
leading business schools in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia,
with the intent of assessing their career values, goals, and
expectations, the developmental opportunities afforded them, and their
strategies for managing work and family life. The reports highlight the
differences in women's and men's career experiences and satisfaction;
some feature perspectives from global leaders and other experts.
The second report, Pipeline’s Broken Promise, examines the
conventional wisdom of the past two decades in which leaders have
counted on parity in education, women’s accelerated movement into the
labor force, and company-implemented diversity and inclusion programs to
yield a robust talent pipeline where women are poised to make rapid
gains to the top. Findings reveal that instead of women and men being on
equal footing and their career trajectories gender-blind, inequality
remains entrenched. Among high-potential graduates from elite MBA
programs (Respondent
Profile)—those companies count on for future leadership—women
lagged men in advancement and compensation starting from their first job
and were less satisfied with their careers. This report includes
perspectives from CEOs and other senior leaders, who considered the
findings a wake-up call and made recommendations for corrective action. A
Statistical
Appendix is available.
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